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December 2012

Because my commute to and from the office is just over two miles, I listen to a lot of podcasts. One of my favorites is the Spilled Milk Podcast by food writers Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton. Tasty recipes usually make an appearance, but most importantly, plenty of bad jokes and giggling are guaranteed. I recommend you listen in.

This recipe is from a recent episode. I listened to it on my way home from work and had to immediately go to the store and get the necessary ingredients because it sounded so good. Cheesy, earthy and under 15 minutes to prepare, this dish is perfect for a weeknight (or a lazy night). We had it as a main course with plenty bread and a salad, but it would also be a solid appetizer.

Last Sunday I had some lovely ladies over to bake Christmas cookies. And boy did we do it up … sugar cookies, chocolate cookies, chocolate and vanilla pinwheels, lemon-ricotta cookies, biscotti, two types of mexican wedding cookies, black and whites, plus peppermint bark and chocolate-pumpkin truffles. It was six hours of baking awesomeness. Here are some photos from the day. Recipes might come if I’m feeling frisky over Christmas.

I’d never made pasta bolognese. We weren’t sure if we’d ever even eaten a true pasta bolognese. The closest we’d ever gotten was marinara sauce with ground beef, which as we found out in our recipe research, is not even close to a pasta bolognese.

This recipe is from the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook and was cross-referenced with a Mario Batali recipe so we’ve got on pretty good authority we’re approaching authentic with this one. We had to make a few minor modifications (bacon in place of pancetta), but good golly pasta bolognese is good! Meaty comfort in a stock pot, real pasta bolognese kicks Ragu‘s ass.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat, add the bacon. Once the bacon has released some of its fat, add the vegetables. Saute the vegetables until they have softened and add the garlic. Remove the vegetables and bacon from the pan and set aside.

Brown the beef and pork in the same pan. Cook 10 – 15 minutes, until the meat is browned. Add the wine, herbs and vegetables to the meat. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and let the liquid evaporate.

Once most of the liquid has evaporated, deglaze with the stock and milk. Add the tomato paste. Simmer until the sauce is thickened, 30 minutes to an hour. Season with salt and pepper.

Because we’ve both been swamped with work, we’ve been all about easy meals and there’s nothing like eggs and toast for a quick dinner. The recipe for these cheesy toasts is from Smitten Kitchen and like all of Deb’s recipes, it does not disappoint.

Heat an oven to 400 degrees. Cut the bread into batons. Mix the melted butter, dijon, cheese, herbs and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss the bread with the cheese-herb mixture. Place in an even layer on a lined baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, heat a medium pot of water until boiling. Cook the eggs for six minutes for a perfectly soft-boiled egg. Serve with the toasts and enjoy!

Jordan is getting his psychology nerd on, studying lots, running lots of experiments, plus selling lots records at the Amoeba Music, bike riding like a fiend, learning how to surf, and decimating the mold infestation in our formerly-leaky bedroom.

I’ve working hard in the Joby webiverse, launching new products (camera straps and smartphone tripods – woot!), pulling together three holiday campaigns (gift guide, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, 12 days of Christmas giveaways), plus some cooking, learning to surf, and snuggling with Willow and Jordan to keep my sanity. Bottom line, spending more time on a computer to blog just hasn’t been on the menu.

Willow is very ready to be a surf dog. Still, her main aim in life is to find the most comfortable spot in the house and snuggle up.

With any luck, we’ll be back with more tasty porktastic recipes. Probably more sporadic than the good ole days, but back nonetheless.

Hoping your holidays are off to a wonderful start! Maybe a few French bulldogs in your stocking this year? I sure wouldn’t mind one of those lil peanuts on Christmas morning.

Ps. Last Saturday we went to see Thomas Keller speak. He was humble, honest and really darn smart. And then we got to meet him and have all of our cookbooks signed!!! If it isn’t obvious from this super nerdy photo, I was on cloud nine.